Miter Cuts for Small Moldings

Miter Cuts

When you want to make a precise cut at forty-five degrees, it helps to have a miter box. I needed one for my recent project. I did not want to spend much, nor do I have house room for a dedicated power tool. One like the twelve inch sliding compound miter saw I used to use would take up too much space.

So after a bit of a rummage in my parts bin, I came up with  what you see in the photo. It is a leg section from a maple bed I mounted on a flat board. First I mounted it along the edge, and tried a few cuts. Then I changed my mind. The guide is now in the middle of the supporting board.

I designed it so it was a convenient length for my workbench to grab. The top has two grooves cut in it. They help place the clamp for the pieces to be cut. You can see the small traditional hand-screw design clamp in the background of the top photo.

A clamp makes for more precision. The molding or frame to be cut cannot move when being cut. You may also notice the complete lack of any groove for the saw blade. That is because my design calls for the work to be held by a clamp, and my free hand is then able to press the saw lightly against the wall of the angle guide. This in turn avoids the slop and angle error when the saw rattles around in the typical narrow guide slot.

I cut the angle by hand with a Japanese razor saw. The second photo shows the measuring process. I trued it up with a low angle Stanley plane, using a machinist’s 45 degree rule to gauge the angle. When there was no daylight between the steel rule and the wooden guide, the angle was close enough for small work. I used an antique square to make sure the cut was at right angles to the board as well.  Possibly close enough for government work.

With the guide in the middle of the board, you can place the item to be cut on the front or the rear of the guide, depending on which end is to be cut off.

Possibly not precise enough for large pieces, but for the small trim moldings I cut, it is cheap and effective.

Clamp the glue joint

When you glue things together, it is usually necessary to clamp them in some way, but the question is how to clamp, and what kinds of clamps to use.

I use many types, and as the top photo illustrates, you seldom can use too many clamps. And I also modify some of mine to allow me to apply them swiftly without marring the work.

See the above lower photograph where I have glued some recycled leather onto the face parts of a clamp.

To put leather facings on, glue first, clamp the thing closed and wait for the glue to set, then cut the leather to size.

What kind of is best glue for this application?

In the past I have used white glue, contact cement, a heavy duty glue named Lepage Extreme Repair all temperature, and epoxy.

The worst was contact cement. It squirms under pressure and the leather can slip off the clamp.

My striking mass now has its leather glued on with regular 24 hour epoxy (which is stronger than five minute epoxy and gives more setup time).

The Extreme Repair gunk advertised to glue leather to just about anything failed in use on the striking mass. It is not shock resistant. If the epoxy fails, next I will try a glue called Gorilla Glue which is in the class of polyurethane glues that is toughest, and does not come off except by abrasion. But it foams up when applied and there are handling issues I want to avoid if I can get by with a lesser glue.

Learning is a process, and it cannot be done without the occasional failure. You can't fix it if it ain't broke.

When gluing things together remember these simple rules and apply the relevant ones. It is always a good idea to read the manufacturer’s instructions. They want you to succeed and buy more of their product, so they go to the trouble and expense of printing directions on how to get the best results. (Often enough they do the worst job in this area, because the space on a product label is very small.)

The most important things to remember are that glue is chemistry. Keep the reactions predictable by doing it on clean joints properly prepared, and clamped according to need.

Here is a bunch of experience (some bitter) driven recommendations for the glue process:

• Apply the clamps within the ‘open time’ allowed by the glue manufacturer.
• Use clamps to draw the parts together where possible, not a hammer.
• Use enough clamps.
• Some clamps are used merely to force the pieces into alignment, not to apply pressure to the joint.
• Do not squeeze all the glue out of the joint with too much pressure.
• Stain before gluing. (I will tell you why later in a different post.)
• Clean up while the glue is wet if possible.
• It is possible to temporarily leave a glueing horn while making the part, attach or glue bits onto the work and then apply the clamps to these bits for the final assembly, then cut the spurs or other things off later.
• Do not panic.
• If things go pear shaped: stop, disassemble, clean off the glue, and start over. Once pressure is applied, the glue starts to transform and is useless to re clamp. The joint will be weak.
• Clamping pressure can distort the work, so plenty of clamps distributed along the joint, all pressing evenly, is best practice.
• You can tape sacrificial bits to the work to protect it, or to keep things in place before the clamping.
• If you wax all the other areas, the glue will be easy to clean off when it hardens.
• When repairing old broken joints, first clean off the old glue.
• Glue is not a gap filler.
• Read the label for drying times and observe them.
• If the glue label says ‘avoid freezing’ and the glue freezes - toss it out.
• Apply glue with anything but your fingers or a greasy rag.
• Properly applied, glue is stronger than the wood it is holding together.
• Do not trust to luck when applying the glue.  I spread it evenly all over the surface to be glued. I use a stick, and get them from Second Cup disguised as coffee stir sticks. (I drink it black) so I figure I am entitled to one per cup. A thin even coating is all you need.  After using the stick I merely break off the end and use it down to a stub. It is best to wet both sides of the joint completely with the glue.
• The correct amount of pressure has arrived when you can see a small gush of glue squeezed from all along the joint. Good Gush is what we called it in my shop.
• If you are gluing a porous wood, try coating it with glue and not assembling it but letting a thin coat dry on the surface after scrubbing it in. THEN sand smooth and glue it later. This will prevent the porosity of the wood from inhaling most of the glue and starving the joint.
• Use the right glue for the job, the materials, and the intended use and working environment.

• TRY IT ALL DRY, BEFORE APPLYING THE GLUE.

This last rule is the most important.
Make sure the fit is proper, your clamps are able to grab where they should, and the clamping pressures will force the items into perfect alignment.

Email me if you have a specific question you want covered.